Suspense, She Writes: My Favorite Blog Interview Questions

Since my first story published in April 2012, I've been featured on a bunch of blogs and answered a ton of interview questions. Today, I've compiled some of my favorite blog questions along with my answers.

If you could be anyone for a day, who would that be?

I’d love to have a noble answer for this, but I confess I’d love to be in Kelly Clarkson’s shoes for just one concert. I’ve always loved to sing and I would love to be on stage before that many people just once and nail it like she does.

What would be your last meal if you were on death row?

Tex-Mex. No question. I’d want a burrito and cheese enchiladas and fajitas and a beef fajita salad with chipotle ranch dressing and a chicken chimichanga. I might explode before they could give me the lethal injection.

Where do you like to shop?

Where don’t I like to shop? My daughter and I are shopping Olympians. I’ll shop anywhere. Large department stores, small local shops, online, flea markets. I seriously think it’s an addiction.

What got you started into writing?

I began devouring every book I could get my hands on in high school. I’ve been a prolific reader ever since. All of that reading fed my imagination. I wrote my first “novel” when I was seventeen. It was seventeen handwritten pages on school-ruled paper and an obvious rip off of the last romance novel I had read. For years my daydreaming made me feel somewhat guilty. I had no problem imagining myself in other places, with other people, doing other things. One day I got the idea of channeling all my daydreaming into a manuscript. That was eleven, maybe twelve years ago, and since then I’ve been writing practically non-stop with only a few short sabbaticals due to a recalcitrant muse refusing to cooperate and give me a fresh spurt of inspiration. Some of my earlier works would make me cringe if I hadn’t burned them. Or deleted them from my hard drive. My journey toward publication has been exciting, frustrating, challenging, and absolutely rewarding.

In 2005 I began pursuing a writing career. Well, maybe career is a strong word. I wanted my writing to be more than a hobby. So I churned out a series of manuscripts and began querying agents and a few publishers. Over the years I’ve learned a lot from rejection. Some of the advice I’ve been given has proven invaluable. Attend writer’s conferences. Read books about the art of writing. Join writers’ critique groups. But mostly write, write, write. Every word I’ve typed has brought me one step closer to my new reality.

In 2010 I joined a writer’s critique site. What I learned about the criticism of my peers…well I could write a book about it. The good, the bad, the ugly…all of those reviews helped me hone my craft, because I learned a little bit more about what the reader sees, feels, hears, tastes, smells, and senses when they read.

In what genre(s) do you write? What do you love about the genre(s)?

I love suspense and that’s what I write. I love to bend and blend genres. My stories are usually suspense and _________. My daughter tells me I can’t write anything without including at least one dead body in the story line. Well, I don’t know, maybe that’s true. Aside from traditional suspense plot lines, I find there’s an element of suspense in any conflict, a moment when the breath catches. I strive to portray that one thing in any situation that will affect the heart rate, tug at emotions, or make the reader anxiously turn the page to read what happens next.

What genre would you NOT write? Why? (Of course, never say never.)

The genre I probably wouldn’t write? I’d rather not say never, but I’ll probably never write anything with vampires, witches, or shifters.

Tell us about your writing desk/space/room.

There are three spaces where I like to write. My bed. My living room sofa. And my favorite, a little room off my bedroom that has a desk and a printer. It’s quiet and nobody bothers me back there, and there’s a window that looks out into my backyard.

What would you say is your interesting writing quirk?

Hum…a writing quirk? Am I quirky? I’m not sure about that. Well, I don’t write in my polka dot pajamas, sip herbal tea, or listen to any particular style of music. I don’t have to have the house quiet either. I put on a pot of coffee and slip into my most comfortable jeans and a t-shirt. I might write on my bed or at my desk or on the sofa in the living room. Perhaps my biggest quirk is that I don’t do rough drafts. I’m probably obsessive compulsive or a raving perfectionist or something. I edit as I go because I can’t stand the thought of overlooking something that needs a tweak. I’ll write a few chapters and then edit. Write a few more and reread from the beginning, editing as I go. I find this gives me a greater sense of continuity and helps me fine-tune my plot and my characterization.

So I have some big news. Well, big for me...

It's been a hectic few weeks. At my day job, I've been deep in the middle of tax season. More than ever, I realize my passion is not accounting and tax preparation. I think I'm good at it, but that's a lot different from loving it. In the middle of that, I set myself a deadline for my next release, Ashley Ridge, of *teeheehee* April 15th. For those of you unfamiliar with US tax laws, that is the deadline for filing our personal income tax returns for 2014.

Yes, I set the release date for that book on the same day as tax hell day. What was I thinking? As many of you know, Amazon wants a final version 10 days before release. So they wanted the book by April 5th. I was working my butt off doing taxes by day and finishing the book by night. I AM EXHAUSTED. But I am pleased to report that the final version of Ashley Ridge is now uploaded to the 'Zon and ready for release! (Some of you may have already bought it on pre-sale. Thank you!) You would think I would be a able to relax now, right? Uh no. I have found that I cannot do two jobs at once, so one of them has to go. I choose to keep the writing. Accounting job bye bye effective April 30th. Watch me happy dance.

Please check out my Haunted Hearts Series. The book are set in the hills of Arkansas. As one reviewer noted, these books are

"a great mix of suspense, mystery, the paranormal and a love story all wrapped up to give you an incredible book."

As always, the first book in the Haunted Hearts Series, Laurel Heights, is available for only 99¢, the second book, Victoria House, is available for just $2.99, and the third book, Ashley Ridge, is available for pre-sale now for only $2.99. Click on book cover to purchase or go to my author page on Amazon at http://www.amazon.com/Denise-Moncrief/e/B007Y6Z1CU.

I'm currently writing the fourth book in the series, Shaw's Landing, set in an abandoned catfish restaurant.